Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school
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Weekly Update Friday 26th May
Fri 26 May 2023What a busy week we have had this week! Year 1 and Year R had their Learning Outcomes and it was lovely to see so many parents and carers coming to see everything they had been learning in class. Year 2 are busy editing their videos and they will be on our video resource centre soon-they wrote some exciting scripts for them!
In celebration assembly we were all amazed by the super learning the children shared-they all had a well deserved certificate and clap! Our lucky book winner was Ethan from Robins, and he chose a funny book to make himself laugh.
This time last week we were getting ready for our Summer Fayre-just before the heavens opened. Our School Governors were very impressed by everybody's 'we can carry on' spirit, and polite children. Thank you to our PTA and all the volunteers who came to help. BWIS Men Shed ran a stall and gave us the proceeds, there were performances by Dance Kidz and Roynon Dance, with lots of other stalls and fun to be had. We have made a little video from some of the photographs taken, and there are more to see on the PTA social media page. The total funds raised amounted to £1,559.49, and we will put it to good use when we further develop our outdoor area, so THANK YOU.
Our new Year R Parents' Evening took place this week, and our new parents had the chance to meet key staff and people from our school community. We had a lovely evening and look forward to seeing our new children in our stay and play sessions.
We also had a visit from Nigel Hyde MBE, who founded a charity Home Leone in Sierra Leone. Nigel is also grandfather to Esther and Zara, who were really pleased that he came to share his story. If you would like to find out more, please click the charity link below:
We had our Full Governing Body meeting yesterday, where we agreed the budget for next year and looked at the forecast for future years. There will be no surprise when I tell you that future years show a deficit budget, due to the cuts in school funds and rising living costs. We hope that there will be a resolution forthcoming soon, as the majority of headteachers at my recent headteacher meeting were also in this situation.
We also agreed our INSET days for next year (the same as BWJS) and they are as below:
Friday 1st September 2023
Monday 4th September 2023
Tuesday 2nd January 2024
Monday 19th February 2024
Monday 3rd June 2024
And on that note, we wish you all a lovely sunny half term.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Nigel Hyde - Home Leone
Fri 26 May 2023On Tuesday, Nigel Hyde, the founder of the charity Home Leone came to school to speak to the children about his work in Sierra Leone. The children loved his assembly and his granddaughters, Esther and Zara were especially proud to show off their granddad’s MBE!
https://homeleone.org
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Weekly Update Friday 19th May
Fri 19 May 2023What a lot has happened this week! We had our Grand opening of our Pond and Outdoor Reflection learning area (now known as 'The Nest'), our Walk to School Week and as I write this I can hear everybody getting ready for our Summer Fayre in the sunshine.
On Monday we had a visit from PCSO Sarah McCulloch, who came to our Road Safety Assembly. She was so impressed by the children and our song, 'Stop, Look, Listen, Think.' She said she was singing it all day on her beat. Our children were brilliant at knowing how to walk to school safely and where not to park-they said they were going to teach their parents too!
We hope to see lots of you at our fayre this afternoon. Remember a lot of stalls are cash only. Our PTA have worked incredibly hard at organising today, especially Hannah, Kelly and Shez who have been in school nearly every day. Thank you so much-we are all looking forward to it!
Have a lovely weekend in the sunshine
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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The Opening of our School Pond and Reflection Learning Area
Fri 19 May 2023This week we held our Grand Opening of our newest areas for outdoor learning in our school. It has been an exciting project that started in 2021 with an email from Matt Howell, who was soon to be one of our parents.
Matt wanted to support an outdoor project in memory of his wife Lucy, who had loved the outdoors and nature. His daughter was about to start at our school and family and friends had raised lots of funds to support outdoor areas that the family had liked to visit. We talked about the biggest area that had been in disrepair at our school which was our pond.
That is when the fun started. Matt's friends and family came to the school on a weekend and with staff, cleared the pond area. It was very overgrown and wild! We took a lot of bags of overgrown thorns away and then looked at the pond that was left in the middle. Sadly, we could not rescue this part at all. Matt and I met with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to talk about what would be best to create the perfect area for pond life to live
We then called Sam Crutchfield and Ian Gower from Vitaplay. Sam had worked with us for many years, creating all the amazing outdoor learning areas we have at BWIS. (He was very used to me drawing ideas out on paper!). We worked together on what the pond could look like, and how amazing it would be for our children. The staging was put in, and the new pond area made. We then had to wait for the wildlife to come back. Matt's family and friends have come to clear areas and keep the pond in shape.
Whilst we were waiting for the pond to grow and attract the wildlife again, our PTA had been busy raising funds to help us develop our outside area. We wanted a special area that could be multi-purpose; where children could sit and have a place to reflect quietly at playtimes, but could also be used as a teaching area outdoors, shielded from the elements. The concept of 'The Nest' was born!
When working with Sam and Ian on this design, we also talking about rejuvenating our story circle, and this became part of the project too. We didn't have quite enough money for the whole project, but through a £500 grant from the Co-op, our small Capital Fund budget and the generous donation from the PTA, we were able to visualise our dream.
So on a sunny day in May, this week, we opened our 3 new learning areas. All the school came to celebrate, one of our governors, the PTA, with Chairs past and present, as well as Matt and his family. Mr Ritchie Latham came from the Parish Council to cut the ribbon and a lovely afternoon was had by all.
We are so grateful to everybody who have helped us raise the funds for this venture. Our Trailbazer Curriculum leads us outdoors throughout the week and these new areas will enhance our children's learning spaces even more. Thank you to everybody who have made the project such a success and for the Howell family for continuing to help us maintain this special area. All good things are, indeed, wild and free.
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Lilypads Staff
Fri 19 May 2023Lilypads staff lost a beloved member of their team last week, with the passing of Karen Ayres. We have worked closely with Lilypads Pre-School and Karen for many years, and everyone at BWIS is greatly saddened by the news.
Karen was always full of fun and saw the brighter side of life. She was extremely knowledgeable about the children she worked with and the care and love for them was evident to see. The whole school community have many happy memories of Karen, and all of the stories we are sharing are full of love and laughter. I am sure many parents and children will remember Karen as fondly as we do too. We have been asked by Lilypads to send a letter to our parents asking to share their memories of her, which will be coming out today.
We wish all of Karen's family and the Lilypads team our love and strength at this difficult time.
With love
Everyone at BWIS
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Walk to School Week - Monday 15th May to Friday 19th May
Mon 15 May 2023We are supporting 'Walk to School Week' from Monday 15th May to Friday 19th May.
How can you help?
- Walk with your child and discuss potential hazards such as driveways, junctions, parked cars and bends
- Work out together the safest route even if this involves a slightly longer journey
- Let your child suggest places to cross and discuss their choice
- Practice the green cross code on your way to and from school - reminding them to stop, look, listen and think
If you don't have time to walk!
- Park the car some way from the school gates and walk the last part of the journey
- Try to find time to walk with them once during the week
- Your child will qualify for a certificate if either option is taken
What are the advantages of walking?
- The chance to teach important road safety skills which cannot be taught in a car
- The chance to learn about the local environment
- A chance for a chat about the day
- Less congestion at the school gate
- A healthier way to start the day
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Weekly Update Friday 12th May
Fri 12 May 2023The children were full of excitement coming into school on Tuesday after their Coronation Celebrations on the weekend. Many of the children talked of the fun they had at the Palace Ruins, and thankfully the weather stayed nice on the day.
We are still making a plea for bottle donations. In the past, we have had about 200 bottles donated, and the stall was always a firm favourite. Currently we have around 30 bottles, and won't be quite the same! Please send in any bottles next week, but hey must arrive before Friday in order to have the raffle tickets put on.
Thank you so much to the parents who are helping behind the scenes for our summer fayre. It is the biggest PTA event of the year, and we are hoping to raise much needed funds for our school.
This week, we have been informed that the school dinner cost is going up to £3 per child in June per day. We only receive £2.41 per child per day from the government, leaving us to take 59p per day per child out of our school budget to subsidise the cost. I will be taking this huge cost, If 175 children have a dinner each day (our current figures) then this means we are paying a shortfall of £103.25 per day. This totals a huge £19,617.50. Myself and the Governing Body are going to look at this huge deficit, as our budget cannot sustain this shortfall. We are also looking to other school meal providers and costs by other companies.
We have noticed some children starting to being in flavoured drinks in their water bottles. It is strictly water only in water bottles, as per our policy. If children would like to bring in flavoured drink to have with their lunch in addition to their water bottle, which can be juice or squash, please make sure it is a clearly labelled bottle/carton. This will then be put in a different place to the water bottles ready for lunch time (please note, Prime and fizzy drinks are not allowed).
We are opening our pond and learning classroom on Monday afternoon with Mr Howell, who kindly donated money to redo the pond, his team of volunteers and our PTA who raised money towards the outside classroom. We will update with pictures from the event on our latest news.
Wishing everybody a lovely weekend
Mrs Riches
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Summer Fayre
Fri 12 May 2023
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Weekly Update Friday 5th May
Fri 05 May 2023We have had a lovely time celebrating the Coronation this week. there are lots of pictures going on Tapestry from the Year Groups and an article on 'Latest news' about our celebration.
Our PTA are making a big plea for donations for our Summer Fayre. They are working incredibly hard behind the scenes and need as much help and donations possible. I hear we have some BBQ kings for the Fayre, so I am looking forward to my burger! Below is the list of donations needed and when to bring them in. We will accept all donations now, except for cakes which need to come in on the day
DONATIONS NEEDED
Chocolates for the chocolate tombola-Bring these in the week beginning 1st May
Bottles for the bottle/drink tombola (if alcoholic, please bring to the office)- Bring these in the week beginning 8th May
Gift donations for our raffle table (must be new/unused-a great time to dig out some of those unused Christmas gifts)-These can be brought in from now
Children's Toys and Books-These must be of good quality, not broken or incomplete. these can be brought in from now
Cake Donations-on the day of the 19th May please.
Thank you to everybody who have donated already-your generosity is greatly appreciated!
I hope the sun shines for everybody this weekend
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Our Coronation Celebration
Fri 05 May 2023What a super day we all had today, celebrating the coronation of King Charles III. We dressed very regally to come to school and had lots of fun designing and making our own crowns to wear.
We had a visit from Mrs Wilkinson and Mr Stoop in assembly, who brought in special commemorative keyrings for every child from Bishops Waltham Parish Council. What lucky children we have!
The rain was not kind to us today, so we brought our Royal Picnic indoors. We started by singing 'God Save the King' and then we were happy munching! Click our link below:
We had a glorious, memorable day. The Parish Council have also invited all the children and their families to a special celebration on Sunday 7th May at the Palace Ruins in Bishops Waltham. The fun starts at 12 o'clock and there will be a band, magicians, games and refreshments-entry is free to all, so take a picnic and join the fun!
We hope you enjoy the long celebratory Bank Holiday Weekend. Some of our pictures are below, and there will be lots of other pictures on Tapestry from each Year Group.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Riches and Everybody at BWIS
